Orchestra Wives (1942) [repost]

Glenn Miller - The Complete Glenn Miller & His Orchestra 1938-1942 (1991) {RCA Bluebird Digital Download rel 2014}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44.1kHz - Digital Download (deezer.com) -> 4.38 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 2.01 Gb | Cover | 5% repair rar
© 1991, 2014 RCA Bluebird
Jazz / Big Band / Sweet Bands / Swing

This 13-CD set completely reissues the contents of the nine double-LP series of the same name, all 277 studio recordings (including 20 alternate takes placed on the 13th disc) that were made by Glenn Miller's extremely popular orchestra. In addition to all of the hits and the occasional jazz performances, the misses (and the many Ray Eberle vocals) are also on this set, so general collectors just wanting a taste of Miller's music would be better off getting a less expensive greatest-hits set. However, true Glenn Miller fans should consider this remarkable reissue to be essential; it's all here.

In the summer of 1941, Artie Shaw organized yet another big band, his fourth in five years. This particular ensemble was one of his most fun groups, featuring trumpeter/singer Hot Lips Page, trombonist Jack Jenney, tenor saxophonist Georgie Auld, pianist Johnny Guarnieri, drummer Dave Tough, and a full string section with some arrangements by trombonist Ray Conniff. All but the last six recordings of this big band are on this CD, including "Blues in the Night," the adventurous "Nocturne," "Take Your Shoes off, Baby," "Just Kiddin' Around," "Dusk," and the two-part "St. James Infirmary." The music alternates between swing, Hot Lips Page features, and classical-oriented works, succeeding on all levels. But shortly after Pearl Harbor, Artie Shaw called it quits again, enlisting in the navy.

By the autumn of 1941, Benny Goodman's orchestra had taken on a polished, slightly oily aspect that was quite different from the bands he'd led a few years earlier. Pianist Mel Powell was now the arranger, Peggy Lee sang on most of the records, and the focus of the material often drifted away from authentically swinging jazz to include quite a number of pop tunes. This tendency is most dramatically demonstrated by two consecutive versions of "Buckle Down, Winsocki," with its John Philip Sousa intro and jocular group vocal. Although the arrangement gets hipper in midstream, one would never guess that the great Cootie Williams was in the band. Maybe nobody did - Williams left in mid-October, knocking the trumpet section down more than one peg…

All 20 of the Lucky Millinder Orchestra's valuable 1941-1942 recordings are on this recommended CD. Millinder himself was not a musician and his only vocal here is mostly shouting on "Ride, Red, Ride," but he was an effective bandleader and frontman. Other than a couple of World War II propaganda songs, the music on these sessions emphasizes swing, and several notable artists are featured. Sister Rosetta Tharpe (who also played excellent guitar) has six rollicking showcases, and among the soloists are clarinetist Buster Bailey, tenorman Stafford Simon, pianist Bill Doggett, and (on the final four songs) altoist Tab Smith and the rapidly emerging trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. On "Little John Special," Dizzy quotes directly from the as-yet-unwritten "Salt Peanuts." Other highlights include "Rock Daniel," "Apollo Jump," "Rock Me," "That's All," and "Mason Flyer."